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Show Aug. 1833. BAHIA BLANCA. 90 . h d the country was, ostnc es, where salt abounds. ~a as b dant. My guide told . d adilloes were a un deer, caVIes, an arm ' h h d a most narrow escape me, that two months befo~e e :o reat distance from this of his life : he was out huntmg, attl gmen when they were "th two o 1er ' part of the country, Wl I d" who o1ving chase, soon b arty of n mns, o-suddenly met YaP f. d His own horse's legs kill d h" two r1en s. . overtook and e IS las . but he jumped off, and With were also caught by the bo .1' d . g this he was obliged to . th free . whi e om d his kmfe cut em · d . ed two severe woun s d h" h e an rece1v dodge roun IS ors .' . on the saddle, he managed, by from their chuzos. Sprmgm? t k p ahead of the long 1 f JUSt o ee a most wonderfu exer IOn, ll d h"m to within sight of the spears of h1. s pursuers, whofo owe 1 d r that no one shoul d h f there was an or e fort. From t at lme nt I did not know of this when stray far from the settle~e d t observe how earnestly my I started, and was surpnse o d to have been fright!! U.i.de watched a deer, which appeare 0 ened from a d"l S t an t qu arter . . d and consequently set W £ d the Beagle had not arnve ' bli d e oun h rses soon tiring, we were o ge out on our return, but the o . g we had caught an 1 1 · In the mormn to bivouac on t le p am. t excellent dish when · h" h although a mos armadillo. , ·w lCh ' 11 di.d not rna k e a v ery substantial break-roasted m Its 8 e ' The ground at the fast and dinner for t:~ :a~nti7 n~~: was incrusted ~ith a place where we stopp f course was Without layer of Glauber sal[ t~:ds:~7::'ro~ents m:naged to e.xist water. Yet many o king its odd httle even here, and the tucut~co hwalfs tmh a ~· (J'ht Our horses h h d dunng a e n o • grunt beneat my ea ' . h · they were soon and m t e mormng were very poor ones, . thin to drink, so exhausted from . not havmg h~~o:y noon ~he dogs killed that we were obliged to walk. f •t but it made a kid, which we :oastedTh !s e~:ssot~= ~orle, distressing as me intolerably thrrsty. 1 . full of little puddles the road, from some recent ram, :~sk ble I had scarcely of c1ear water, yet not a drop was rm a . Aug. 1833. GLAUBER SALTS. 91 been twenty hours without water, and only part of the time under a hot sun, yet the thirst rendered me very weak. How people survive two or three days under such circumstances, I cannot imagine : at the same time, I must confess that my guide did not suffer at all, and was astonished that one day's deprivation should be so troublesome to me. I have several times alluded to the surface of the ground being incrusted with salt. This phenomenon is quite different from that of the salinas, and much more extraordinary. In many parts of South America, wherever the climate is moderately dry, these incrustations occur; but I have nowhere seen them so abundant as near Bahia Blanca. The salt here consists of a large proportion of sulphate of soda mixed with a very little of the common muriate. As long as the ground remains moist in these salitrales (as the Spaniards improperly call them, mistaking this substance for saltpetre), nothing is to be seen but an extensive plain composed of a black, muddy soil, supporting. scattered tufts of succulent plants. I was therefore much surprised, after a week's hot weather, when I first saw square miles of country, that I had previously ridden over in the former condition, white, as if from a slight fall of snow which the wind had heape~ up into partial drifts. This latter appearance is chiefly due to the tendency which the salt has to crystallize, like hoar-frost, round the blades of grass, stumps of wood, or on the top of the broken ground, in lieu of the bottoms of the puddles of water. The salinas, as a general rule, occur in depressions on the more elevated plains; the salitrales, either on level tracts elevated a few feet 'above the level of the sea, and appearing as if lately inundated, or on alluvial land bordering rivers. In this latter case, although I am not absolutely certain, I have strong reasons for believing that the salt is often removed by the waters of the river, and is again reproduced. Several circumstances incline me to think that the black, muddy soil, generates the sulphate of soda. The whole phenomenon is well worthy the |
